System and Method for Optimizing Agent Time

ABSTRACT

A method and system automatically optimizes agent time. The method performed by a transferring device includes monitoring a communication session between an agent device used by an agent of the contact center and a user device used by a user. The communication session including first communications generated by the agent and second communications generated by the user. The method includes determining when the communication session is to be transferred from the agent device to an automated system of the contact center. The automated system is configured to perform the communication session by generating third communications for the second communications. The method includes generating a control signal upon determining the communication session is to be transferred that is configured to automatically transfer the communications session from the agent device to the automated system.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A contact center may be used by a provider to initiate a session thatenables a user to request information and/or have an issue or servicehandled by the provider addressed. The contact center may be equippedwith an automated system that requests information from the user toproperly provide the requested service. Specifically, the automatedsystem may receive initial information to generally determine a categoryof the requested service. Subsequently, the contact center may forwardthe session to an agent or continue utilizing the automated system.

The session may be performed in a variety of different manners. In afirst manner, the session may be performed in non-real-time such as withemail. In a second manner, the session may be performed in real-time ornear real-time. For example, in real-time, the automated system mayprovide voice prompts over a voice and/or video communication such as atelephone/video call in which the information is requested. In anotherexample, in near real-time, the automated system may provide inputfields in a session form that the user enters prior to the session beinginitiated. Subsequently, the automated system may activate the sessionas a chat session. In a further example, the chat session may beactivated immediately in which the information is requested during thechat session.

When the sessions are performed by the contact center as a chat session,the contact center may select when to forward the chat session to anagent. For example, a forwarding procedure may be performed in aseamless manner where the agent is provided a transcript and/or otherinformation of the exchange between the automated system and the user tocontinue the chat session as if the agent had been participating theentire time. Furthermore, the agent may handle multiple concurrent chatsessions depending upon how many users the agent is selected tointeract. When such a scenario presents itself, the agent may beincapable of providing responses in a timely manner that may cause theuser to terminate the chat session early.

Although creating a negative user experience, the agent being inundatedwith sessions also creates an inefficient use of the contact center.Conventional automated systems are only configured to transfer thesession from the automated system to the agent so that the agent maycontinue the chat session until its completion. During peak times wherethe agents are occupied to capacity with sessions, the agents may nolonger be able to take on any further sessions. The surplus users willtherefore be kept waiting until an agent becomes available whichfurthers the inefficient use of the contact center.

Thus, there is a need for a system and method to determine a manner ofutilizing the automated system in a more efficient manner to increaseoptimization of an agent time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary contact center system according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary agent device of the contact center system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary transferring device of the contact centersystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary method for determining when to transfer asession between an agent device and an automated system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference tothe following description and the related appended drawings, whereinlike elements are provided with the same reference numerals. Theexemplary embodiments are related to a system and method for optimizingan agent time through improved use of an automated system. Specifically,the exemplary embodiments provide a mechanism in which a session beinghandled by an agent using an agent device is automatically transferredtherefrom to the automated system. Accordingly, the agent being a finiteresource is freed up to allow further sessions to be handled thereby.The contact center, the automated system, the agent, the agent device,the transfer mechanism, and a related method will be described infurther detail below.

Initially, it should be noted that the exemplary embodiments describedherein relate to a contact center that receives queries or requests(herein collectively referred to as “requests”). However, those skilledin the art will understand that the exemplary embodiments may be appliedto any system in which an agent communicates over a real-time ornear-real-time (herein collectively referred to as “real-time”)communication with a user having the request. Thus, the contact centerused herein may represent any of these systems. It should also be notedthat the use of the agent and the user is only exemplary. Those skilledin the art will also understand that the exemplary embodiments may beapplied to any first user who represents a first party to the real-timecommunication with any second user who represents at least one secondparty to the real-time communication. It should also be noted that theexemplary embodiments described herein relate to a real-timecommunication being a chat session. As such, the session and chatsession may be used interchangeably herein. However, those skilled inthe art will understand that the use of the chat session is onlyexemplary and the exemplary embodiments may utilize any time-relatedcommunication functionality.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system 100 according to the present inventionincluding a contact center and a means for a user to communicate withthe contact center. The system 100 may utilize a communications network110 and a contact center network 115 which are communicatively connectedto one another. Accordingly, end devices connected to the communicationsnetwork 110 and/or the contact center network 115 may communicate witheach other. The system 100 may enable a user device 105 utilized by auser to transmit a request via the communications network 110 and thecontact center network 115 to an agent device 120 utilized by an agentso that a real-time communication may be established therebetween forthe request to be discussed during a session (e.g., a chat session). Aswill be described in further detail below, the system 100 may furtherinclude an automated system 135, a transferring device 140, and asupervisor device (not shown). The supervisor device may be utilized bya supervisor who is responsible for a plurality of agents such as thoseusing the agent devices 120-130.

The user device 105 may represent an electronic device in which a usermay transmit a request to the contact center network 115. Specifically,the request and its resolution may be performed over a real-timecommunication (e.g., voice and/or video). For example, the user device105 may be any electronic component that is configured to communicatevia the communications network 110 using the real-time communicationsuch as a desktop computer, a laptop, a smartphone, etc. The user device105 is shown as wirelessly communicating with the communications network110. However, it should be noted that the user device 105 may alsoconnect to the communications network 110 using other means such as awired connection. Accordingly, the user device 105 may includecorresponding components to enter the request (e.g., an input/output(I/O) device), to connect to the communications network 110 (e.g., atransceiver), to transmit the request, to perform the videocommunication (e.g., an imager), etc.

The communications network 110 may represent any single or plurality ofnetworks used by the user device 105 to communicate with the contactcenter via the contact center network 115. For example, if the userdevice 105 is a personal home computer, the communications network 110may include a home network in which the user device 105 may initiallyconnect. The home network may connect to a network of an Internetservice provider to connect to the Internet. Subsequently, through theInternet, a connection may be established with the contact centernetwork 115. It should be noted that the communications network 110 andall networks that may be included therein may be any type of networksuch as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a VirtualLAN (V-LAN), etc. using any variety of radio access networks such as 3G,4G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiFi, etc.

The contact center network 115 may enable a plurality of devices to beinterconnected with one another. For example, the contact center network115 may be a proprietary network accessible in one manner by the agentdevices 120-130, the automated system 135, and the monitoring device140. Specifically, the agent devices 120-130, the automated system 135,and the transferring device 140 may be connected to the contact centernetwork 115 via an authorized or privileged connection for selectinformation and data to be accessed. However, as discussed above, thecontact center network 115 may be accessed in another manner via thecommunications network 110 by the user device 105. This connection mayenable communications to be transmitted and/or received between the enddevices without access to the above noted information and data,particularly using the video communication.

The contact center network 115 may also enable direct connectionsthereto using, for example, both wired and wireless connections.Specifically, the agent device 120 may utilize a wired connection toestablish the connection with the contact center network 115. The agentdevice 125 may utilize a wireless connection to establish the connectionwith the contact center network 115. Furthermore, the agent device 120and the agent device 125 may be within a predetermined proximity of thecontact center network 115 in order to establish the connection. Usingan authorization procedure (e.g., login and password), the connectionfor the agent devices 120, 125 may be established. In addition, thecontact center network 115 may enable remote connections thereto using,for example, the communications network 110. For example, an agent maywork remotely from a location that is outside the proximity of thecontact center network 115 such as the agent device 130. Usingauthentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) procedures (via aAAA server), the agent device 130 may establish a connection with thecontact center network 115 in a substantially similar manner as theagent devices 120, 125.

In view of the above description of the contact center network 115, itshould be noted that the contact center network 115 may include avariety of components (not shown) to enable these functionalities. Forexample, the contact center network may include a server, a router, aswitch center, a network management arrangement, a database, etc. Itshould also be noted that the use of three agent devices 120-130 is onlyexemplary. Those skilled in the art will understand that the contactcenter may utilize any number of agent devices. It should further benoted that the use of one supervisor device 135 is only exemplary. Thoseskilled in the art will understand that the contact center may utilizeany number of supervisor devices to manage one or more agent devices.

FIG. 2 shows the exemplary agent device 120 of the contact center system100 of FIG. 1. As discussed above, the agent device 120 may be utilizedby an agent to receive a request from a user via the user device 105 andto perform a real-time communication therewith. As will be discussed infurther detail below, the agent device 120 may have the request in theform of a chat session forwarded thereto from the automated system 135.The agent device 120 may therefore receive information from theautomated system 135 relating to a prior exchange between the automatedsystem 135 and the user device 105 that enables the agent tosubsequently use a process to determine a response or resolution for therequest during the chat session.

The description herein for the agent device 120 may be representative ofthe agent devices 125, 130 as well. The agent device 120 may alsorepresent any electronic device that is configured to perform thefunctionalities described herein. For example, the agent device 120 maybe a portable device such as a tablet, a laptop, etc. In anotherexample, the agent device 120 may be a client stationary device such asa desktop terminal. The agent device 120 may include a processor 205, amemory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an I/O Device 220, atransceiver 225, an imager 230, and other components (e.g., an audioinput device (for use during the video communication relating to thevoice input component), an audio output device (for use during the videocommunication relating to the voice output component), a battery, a dataacquisition device, ports to electrically connect the agent device 120to other electronic devices, etc.).

The processor 205 may be configured to execute a plurality ofapplications of the agent device 120. For example, the applications mayinclude a web browser when connected to the contact center network 115and also the communications network 110 via the transceiver 225. Inanother example, the processor 205 may execute a ticket application 235.The ticket application 235 may include a plurality of tools and receiveother information such as from the automated system 135 or determinedfrom other applications such as the web browser. The ticket application235 may also perform the real-time communication functionality. That is,among the tools provided thereby, the ticket application 235 may have asession with the user forwarded to the agent device 120 from theautomated system 135 (e.g., through a switch component of the contactcenter network 115) and establish the real-time communication sessionbetween the agent and the user. In a further example, the processor 205may execute a takeover application 240. The takeover application 240 mayoperate in conjunction with the ticket application 235. Specifically,the takeover application 240 may provide the capability of having thesession transferred from the automated system 135 to the agent device120. Accordingly, the takeover application 240 may perform otherfunctionalities associated with the transfer such as providing atranscript of the prior exchange between the automated system 135 andthe user device 105. The takeover application 240 may also provide thecapability of transferring the session in an opposite direction. As willbe described in further detail below, the takeover application 240 mayreceive an indication from the transferring device 140 thatautomatically transfers the session from the agent device 120 to theautomated system 135. In a specific exemplary embodiment, thetransferring device 140 may have an overriding capability in which thetransfer is performed automatically without any agent intervention. In afurther specific exemplary embodiment, the overriding capability mayalso prevent the agent from canceling the transfer from being performed.

It should be noted that the above noted applications each being anapplication (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 205 is onlyexemplary. The functionality associated with the applications may alsobe represented as a separate incorporated component of the agent device120 or may be a modular component coupled to the agent device 120, e.g.,an integrated circuit with or without firmware.

The memory 210 may be a hardware component configured to store datarelated to operations performed by the agent device 120. Specifically,the memory 210 may store data related to the web browser, the ticketapplication 235, the transferring application 240, etc. For example, thetranscript received from the automated system 135 may be stored. Thedisplay device 215 may be a hardware component configured to show datato a user while the I/O device 220 may be a hardware component thatenables the user to enter inputs such as a keyboard, a mouse, a gesturereading engine from video, etc. It should be noted that the displaydevice 215 and the I/O device 220 may be separate components orintegrated together such as a touchscreen.

The transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to transmitand/or receive data, particularly related to the video communication.That is, the transceiver 225 may enable the video communication withother electronic devices directly or indirectly through a network basedupon an operating frequency of the network. The transceiver 225 mayoperate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set ofconsecutive frequencies) that are related to the functionalities of thedifferent applications being performed.

As described above, the agent devices 120-130 may execute the ticketapplication 235. Specifically, the user device 105 may transmitinformation included in a request such as in the form of a ticket to thecontact center. The contact center network 115 may process the ticketand determine an appropriate agent to deliver the ticket to subsequentlyestablish the real-time communication with the user of the user device105. More specifically, the automated system 135 may be configured toprocess this initial information (among other functionalities). Theautomated system 135 may include a processing engine and a transceiverthat is configured to exchange information with the user device 105.

As discussed above, the contact center may utilize a chat session as areal-time communication with the user of the user device 105. The chatsession may be performed using the automated system 135 which does notrequire an agent using the agent device 120. The automated performanceof the chat session by the automated system 135 may attempt to fullyanswer a request or gather information. Due to this functionality of theautomated system 135, those skilled in the art will appreciate that theautomated system 135 engaging with a user may be considered anindeterminately large resource as its capability is greater than anindividual agent or potentially all the agents of the contact center.That is, based upon, for example, hardware limitations, applicablesession licensing, etc., the automated system 135 may have potentially alimitless capability to offer automated service to a large number oflive users. Those skilled in the art will also understand that theautomated system 135 may be limited to offer automated responses fortopics or progression of the chat that it is familiar with such asthrough rules based programming, heuristic techniques of historicalconversation analysis, knowledge base article consumption, etc.Therefore, at some point, there is likely a need for the automatedsystem 135 to forward the session to a live agent for assistance incontinuing the session. However, the automated system 135 may stillprovide an invaluable resource for contact center, particularly througha more efficient use provided by the exemplary embodiments.

The automated system 135 may be configured with a plurality offunctionalities. In a first example, the automated system 135 may be aninitial contact for the user of the user device 105. That is, each userdevice 105 that reaches the contact center may be forwarded to theautomated system 135. The automated system 135 may include a greetingfunctionality that activates a real-time communication (e.g., a chatsession) with the user device 105. The greeting functionality mayprovide a standard greeting as text in the chat session. Subsequently,the automated system 135 may include an information gatheringfunctionality. The information gathering functionality may entail aplurality of inquiries posed to the user of the user device 105 via thechat session. For example, the inquiries may include a list or menu ofcategories that the user may select in the chat session (e.g., a menuoption in a chat window). Subsequent inquiries may be posed uponselection of inputs for the inquiries. For example, a predetermineddecision tree may be used in which an input for an inquiry leads to afollow-up inquiry. The information gathering functionality may also oralternatively entail a text parsing functionality such that a generalinquiry (e.g., “How may I help you today?”) may be responded withfree-form text. The text parsing functionality may determine theappropriate category of the request.

In a second example, the automated system 135 may continue the chatsession based upon the inputs for the inquiries beyond the standardizedset of questions. That is, the processor of the automated system 135 mayinclude an intelligence module that determines a response or follow-upinquiry as the chat session progresses into a more complex discussionwith the user of the user device 105. As will be used herein, a“response” may relate to a communication from the contact center to theuser device 105 while a “reply” may relate to a communication from theuser device 105 to the contact center. For example, the automated system135 may utilize a confidence mechanism in which potential responses orfollow-up inquiries have a confidence value associated therewith. Whenthe confidence value is above a predetermined threshold, the automatedsystem 135 may be configured to continue the chat session using thecorresponding response. However, when the confidence value is below apredetermined threshold, the automated system 135 may remove theresponse from being used in the chat session at the time thisdetermination is made. Furthermore, when the session is transferred fromthe automated system 135 to the agent device 120, the automated system135 may use these confidence values to determine when the transfer is tobe performed. For example, when the confidence values of all potentialresponses are below the predetermined threshold, this may indicate thatthe agent may be more appropriately suited to handle a subsequentportion of the chat session as the complexity may have gone beyond thecapability of the automated system 135.

In a third example, the automated system 135 may still continueprocessing the chat session despite having been transferred to the agentdevice 120. For example, the automated system 135 may provide suggestedresponses to the agent device 120 based upon the chat sessionprogression. In a specific example, upon transference of the sessionfrom the automated system 135 to the agent device 105, the automatedsystem 135 may also provide all potential responses being consideredprior to the transfer (e.g., top three confident responses that fallbelow the predetermined threshold). Furthermore, while the chat sessionis with the agent device 105, the automated system 135 may continue thisanalysis and continue to provide suggested responses.

It should be noted that the automated system 135 may record and storethe manner in which the agent proceeds with the chat session and whetherthe suggested responses are being selected. In this manner, theautomated system 135 may be configured with an intelligence system thatmay update the parameters for determining the confidence level for thepotential responses. For example, a first session may have beentransferred due to a potential response falling under the predeterminedthreshold. However, due to the information gathered from this firstsession, a second session having substantially similar circumstances mayresult in the potential response having a higher confidence that risesabove the predetermined threshold for the session to continue at theautomated system 135 without transference to the agent device 120.

In a fourth example, the automated system 135 may be configured todetermine the agent device 120 associated with an agent determined to beselected for the transfer of the chat session. For example, theautomated system 135 may have access to information of the availability,capabilities, and/or knowledge base of the agents of the contact center.Based upon the progression of the chat session, the automated system 135may determine the most appropriate agent for which the chat session isto be transferred. Thus, the automated system 135 may transfer the chatsession to the agent device 120 corresponding to the determined agent.For example, as discussed above, the agent may log into an agent deviceusing unique credentials that indicate to the automated system 135 theassociation between the agent and the agent device 120. Those skilled inthe art will understand that the selection of the agent may be performedin a variety of manners and the use of qualifications and/or indicatorsin the chat session are only exemplary.

It should also be noted that the use of the automated system 135 as aninitial contact is only exemplary. The exemplary embodiments relate to amechanism in which the session is transferred from the agent device 120to the automated system 135. Thus, the agent device 120 may also beconfigured as the initial contact with the user device 105. That is, theagent of the agent device 120 may perform all of the abovefunctionalities in a manual capacity.

As discussed above, the session may be transferred between the agentdevice 120 and the automated system 135 in either direction. In a firstexample, the automated system 135 may initiate the session with the userdevice 105.

Subsequently, the session may be transferred from the automated system135 to the agent device 120. This transfer may be performed using anyknown mechanism. According to the exemplary embodiments, the transfermay also occur in an opposite direction. In a second example oftransfer, the agent device 120 may initiate the session with the userdevice 105. Subsequently, the session may be transferred from the agentdevice 120 to the automated system 135. In a third example of transfer,the agent device 120 may have had the session transferred thereto fromthe automated system 135.

Subsequently, the session may be transferred back from the agent device120 to the automated system 135. This transfer between the agent device120 and the automated system 135 may be performed in an automatic mannervia the transferring device 140. As will be described in further detailbelow, the transferring device 140 may determine when the automatictransfer from the agent device 120 to the automatic system 135 is to beperformed.

FIG. 3 shows the exemplary transferring device 140 of the contact centersystem 100 of FIG. 1. The transferring device 140 may provide amechanism that performs the automated transfer between the agent device120 and the automatic system 135. Specifically, the transferring device140 may determine at least one condition that causes a trigger orindication to be transmitted to the agent device 120 or the automatedsystem 135 for the automatic transfer to be performed.

The transferring device 140 may be preconfigured with a variety ofparameters to perform the transfers. For example, an administrator orthe supervisor may pre-program the transferring device 140 to performits intended functionality. In another example and as noted above, thetransferring device 140 may be configured with a feedback functionalityin which the original pre-programming may be updated based uponexperiences of sessions that have occurred. In a substantially similarmanner as the agent device 120, the transferring device 140 mayrepresent any electronic device that is configured to perform thefunctionalities described herein. The transferring device 140 mayinclude a processor 305, a memory arrangement 310, and a transceiver 315that provide functionalities substantially similar to thosecorresponding to the agent device 120. It should be noted that thetransferring device 140 may also include further components such as adisplay device and an I/O device that enable the administrator toconfigure the transferring device 140 to perform its intendedfunctionalities. However, it should also be noted that the transferringdevice 140 may be configured to receive these instructions via thetransceiver 215 to automatically implement the policies upon reception.

The processor 305 may be configured to execute a monitoring application320. The monitoring application 320 may receive an exchange between theuser device 105 and one of the agent device 120 or the automated system135, whichever device is currently progressing the session with the userdevice 105. For example, a transcript may have been created for thesession including the responses from the contact center and the repliesfrom the user device 105. When the automated system 135 initiates thesession, the transcript may be created and passed along with the sessionwhen transferred to the agent device 120. The transcript may also beprovided to the monitoring application 320 that continues the transcriptfor monitoring purposes. Based upon a current progression and furtherprocessing of the transcript (particularly regarding the responses beingprovided), the monitoring application 320 may provide information of thesession that is used to determine whether the session is to betransferred.

The processor 305 may also be configured to execute a transferapplication 325. The transfer application 325 may receive informationfrom the monitoring application 320. Based upon this information, thetransfer application 325 may determine whether the session is to betransferred from the automated system 135 to the agent device 120 orvice versa. More particularly, the transfer application 325 according tothe exemplary embodiments may determine a variety of conditions such asone or more criteria that result in the session being transferred fromthe agent device 120 to the automated system 135.

The transfer application 325 may be configured to enable more accuratedecisions about which chat sessions are to be transferred from a manualprocess via the agent device 120 to an automated process via theautomated system 135. Accordingly, the transfer application 325 may alsodetermine which chat sessions are better served by remaining with theagent of the agent device 120. Those skilled in the art will understandthat the agent may have multiple sessions occurring concurrently andthat there may be one or more sessions that require more agent attentionthan others such as a session where the customer is requesting highlycomplex questions (that may not be properly responded by the automatedsystem 135), provides a response in a relative fast manner with anexpectation of the same from the contact center, etc.

Initially, as discussed above, there may be a variety of differentcriteria that the transfer application 325 may consider when determiningwhen to transfer a session from the automated system 135 to the agentdevice 120 when the automated system 135 provides the initial contactfor the user device 105. When the automated system 135 provides thisinitial contact functionality, replies may be provided to variousinquiries or responses posed to the user device 105 during the chatsession. The responses may be determined based upon a predetermineddecision tree based upon replies from the user device 105. The automatedsystem 135 may weigh and determine which response has a highestconfidence value for selection to be used as the response in the chatsession. However, when the determined response having the highestconfidence falls below a predetermined threshold, the automated system135 may determine that the chat session will be better handled by anagent. Thus, this may be one criteria when the transferring device 140determines that the session is transferred from the automated system 135to the agent device 120. However, if the responses remain above thepredetermined threshold, the automated system 135 may continue to beused.

The session may progress to a point where the automated system 135 is nolonger within the preprogrammed categories for which responses aregenerated. For example, the initial inquiries posed to the user device105 may be generic to identify a topic for which the request relates. Asthe request becomes more detailed, the automated system 135 may nolonger be capable of providing a response, particularly if there is nopreprogramming beyond a particular scope of the request. In such a case,the complexity of the session may be outside the limits of the automatedsystem 135. When such a determination is made, the transferring device140 may determine to transfer the session from the automated system 135to the agent device 120. Thus, this may provide another criteria.However, if the automated system 135 has at least one responsepreprogrammed to continue the session, the automated system 135 maycontinue to be used (barring any other criteria such as the confidencedescribed above).

The responses may also be provided by the automated system 135 basedupon a time required to determine which response is to be used. Forexample, an initial inquiry may be predetermined and automaticallyoutput in the chat session (e.g., “How can I help you today?”).Subsequent inquiries or responses may require at least some processingas the preprogramming of the known categories must be performed basedupon the replies provided by the user device 105. As the complexity anddetails of the session increase, the amount of processing may alsoincrease which may result in an increased time required to provideresponses by the automated system 135. However, the user of the userdevice 105 may be providing replies in a timely manner such asimmediately after receiving the response from the automated system 135.When a large enough discrepancy results in the time taken to provideresponses by the automated system 135 versus the time taken to receivereplies from the user device 105, the transferring device 140 maydetermine to transfer the session from the automated system 135 to theagent device 120. Accordingly, this may provide a further criteria. Ifthe automated system 135 continues to also provide responses in a timelymanner, the automated system 135 may continue to be used.

In the opposing operation of transferring the session from the agentdevice 120 to the automated system 135, there may also be a variety ofdifferent criteria that the transfer application 330 may consider. Thedifferent types of criteria may include, for example, contact centercapacity, agent capacity, confidence of suggested responses, responsetime of agent, response analysis, etc. These criteria may be usedindividually or in combination with one another (e.g., two or more) forthe transfer application 330 to determine when the session is to betransferred from the agent device 120 to the automated system 135.

In a first exemplary criteria, an overall workload of the contact centermay be determined by the transferring device 140. As discussed above,the transferring device 140 may have a proprietary authorization toconnect to the contact center network 115. More specifically, thetransferring device 140 may have information associated with theworkload of the contact center. The workload of the contact center mayrelate to a current number of ongoing sessions by available agents ofthe contact center. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, there may bethree total agents using agent devices 120-130 in which each agent maybe allowed to handle up to five sessions concurrently. Thus, the contactcenter may have a total capacity of fifteen sessions at any given timeto be performed by the agents. According to this first criteria, thetransfer application 330 may determine an actual number of concurrentsessions being performed by the agents. Continuing with this example,the transfer application 330 may determine that only twelve sessions arebeing handled by the agents. Thus, the overall workload of the contactcenter is under its capacity. Accordingly, the transfer application 330may determine that a session currently being handled by the automatedsystem 135 may be transferred to one of the agent devices 120-130.Conversely, if the transfer application 330 determines that fifteensessions are being handled by the agents, the overall workload of thecontact center is at its capacity. Accordingly, the transfer application330 may determine that all of the sessions currently being handled bythe automated system 135 is to remain with the automated system 135.

It should be noted that the criteria of the workload of the contactcenter impliedly includes further considerations. For example, in asecond exemplary criteria, the load factor of the individual agents maybe used to determine whether a transfer of a session is to be performed.That is, the workload of the contact center may also consider anavailability of other agents to handle additional sessions. Furthercontinuing with the above example in which the workload of the contactcenter is at twelve sessions being performed by the agents, the agentdevice 120 may currently be handling its capacity of five sessions whilethe agent devices 125, 130 may currently be handling under its capacitysuch as the agent device 125 handling four sessions and the agent device130 handling three sessions. In this manner, the transfer application330 may further determine that no further sessions are to be transferredto the agent device 120. In a further example, a session being handledby the automated system 135 may require a transfer. Although the agentusing the agent device 120 may be the most appropriate for the transfer,the transfer application 330 may be aware of the capacity and insteadtransfer the session to one of the other available agent devices 125,130. In yet another example, a session being handled by the agent ofagent device 120 may be determined to return to automation such that theagent device 120 is to handle a new incoming session (e.g., since theagent using the agent device 120 may be the only appropriate resourcefor the session). Thus, a double transfer may take place in which asession being handled by the agent of agent device 120 is transferred tothe automated system 135 while a new session being handled by theautomated system 135 is transferred to the agent device 120, therebyagain filling the capacity. In this manner, the workload of the contactcenter and the load factor of the agent may be balanced with acorresponding threshold (e.g., a predetermined workload threshold forworkload and a predetermined load factor threshold for the load factor)to determine when the transfer is to be performed.

In a third exemplary criteria, the confidence level of the responsessuggested by the automated system 135 may be considered. As discussedabove, when the session is at the automated system 135 and the responsesare considered to fall below a predetermined threshold, the transferringdevice may transfer the session from the automated system 135 to theagent device 120. Also as discussed above, the automated system 135 maycontinue to monitor the progress of the session even after the transferfor a variety of reasons. One exemplary reason is to provide suggestedresponses to the agent device 120. Although the responses may havedropped below the predetermined threshold while the session was still atthe automated system 135, latter suggested responses while the sessionis at the agent device 120 may subsequently rise above the predeterminedthreshold after the agent has progressed the session. Thus, in a firstmanner of using this criteria, when any suggested response is determinedto again be above the predetermined threshold, the transfer application330 may automatically transfer the session from the agent device 120 tothe automated system 135. In a second manner of using this criteria andto increase a likelihood that the automated system 135 may be used forthe session to provide correct responses, the transfer application 330may automatically transfer the session from the agent device 120 to theautomated system 135 when at least a select number of consecutivesuggested responses are above the predetermined threshold.

In a fourth exemplary criteria, the response time of the agent using theagent device 120 that is handling the session may be considered. Asdiscussed above, the agent using the agent device 120 may be assigned aplurality of concurrent sessions. Although the agent may devote fullattention when only one session is being handled, the agent's attentionmust be split when more than one session is being handled by the agent.With more sessions being allowed to be handled by the agent and moresessions being allocated to the corresponding agent device, the agent'sattention decreases. Furthermore, one of the sessions being handled bythe agent may require more of the agent's attention that furtherdecreases the attention provided to the remaining sessions. Accordingly,the transfer application 330 may determine when a time between responsesgoes above a predetermined threshold or other standard (e.g., a peeraverage time of other agents, mean time between responses performed bythe agent, etc.). The predetermined threshold may be selected based uponan acceptable amount of time that the user should wait after providing areply. Thus, when the time is above the predetermined threshold, thetransfer application 330 may transfer the session from the agent device120 to the automated system 135. However, if the agent is capable ofproviding a response within the predetermined threshold, the session mayremain with the agent device 120.

In a fifth exemplary criteria, an analysis of the responses beingprovided may be considered. Specifically, the transfer application 330may determine whether the suggested responses provided by the automatedsystem 135 is being used at a certain frequency by the agent of theagent device 120. In other words, the transfer application 330 maydetermine a level of input by the agent in providing the responses tothe user device 105. For example, if the agent is performing a varietyof searches or other functions to find requested information with nosuggested responses being provided or without any consideration ofprovided suggested responses, the transfer application 330 may determinethat the agent may be preferred or required for the session. However, inanother example, if the agent is simply accepting a majority or all ofthe suggested responses provided by the automated system 135 or isproviding responses that substantially correspond to the suggestedresponses, the transfer application 330 may determine that the agent'scapacity and time may be freed up from this session by transferring thissession to the automated system 135 that may perform the session in asubstantially similar as the agent.

It should be noted that this transfer may be performed even if thesuggested responses are below the predetermined threshold associatedwith confidence values. The transfer application 330 may determine thatthe suggested responses do not satisfy the confidence criteria but thatthe session still uses these under-confident responses (by the agent).Therefore, the transfer application 330 may also determine that theautomated system 135 may be used preferentially to avail the agent as aresource again.

According to the exemplary embodiments, the above criteria or acombination thereof may enable the transferring device 140 to determineif a session currently being handled by an agent using the agent device120 is better served by removing it from the current agent and assigningit to the automated system 135. For example, the overall workload of thecontact center and the lad factor of the individual agents may provideindividual determinations of when to transfer sessions between the agentdevice 120 and the automated system 135. In another example, theconfidence factor of the suggested responses and the response analysismay be used in some associated manner to determine when to transfersessions between the agent device 120 and the automated system 135. Whenthe transferring device 140 determines that the transfer is to beperformed from the agent device 120 to the automated system 135, thetransfer application 330 may generate a corresponding signal (e.g., acontrol signal, a transfer signal, etc.) to be transmitted to thetakeover application 240. As discussed above, when the takeoverapplication 240 receives this signal or indication, the session may beautomatically transferred outside the control of the agent.

It should be noted that the transferring device 140 may also considerwhen to transfer the session from one agent (e.g., the agent using theagent device 120) to another agent (e.g., the agent using the agentdevice 125). As discussed above, when a first agent is at capacity butan incoming session requires the attention of this first agent, asession of the first agent may be transferred to a second agent tocreate capacity for the incoming session. However, in determining thistransfer, the transferring device 140 may further consider a timerequired for the second agent to catch up on the progression of thesession. As the catch-up time will most likely require a relativelysignificant amount of time, this catch-up time may be used to determinewhether such a transfer is still acceptable under the currentcircumstances. A substantially similar analysis may also be performedfor the transfer from the automated system 135 to the agent device 120with the transmission of the transcript and time required for the agentto review the in-progress session prior to takeover.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary method 400 for determining when to transfer asession between the agent device 120 and the automated system 135. Moreparticularly, the method 400 describes an overall procedure for handlingincoming sessions from the user device 105 where the automated system135 provides an initial contact functionality. The method 400 furtherdetermines when a session at the agent device 120 is to be transferredback to the automated system 135. It should again be noted that the useof the automated system 135 performing the initial contact functionalityis only exemplary and that the agent device 120 may represent any of theagent devices of the contact center. The method 400 will be describedwith reference to the contact center system 100 of FIG. 1, the agentdevice 120 of FIG. 2, and the transferring device 140 of FIG. 3.

In step 405, the contact center receives a communication from the userdevice 105. The user device 105 may contact the contact center in avariety of different manners. For purposes of the exemplary embodiment,the user of the user device 105 may utilize a chat option that enables anear real-time communication to be established between the user device105 and the contact center. Thus, a chat session may be formed betweenthe user device 105 and the contact center.

In step 410, the communication may be forwarded to the automated system135 because the automated system 135 is configured with the initialcontact functionality. As discussed above, the initial contactfunctionality may entail the automated system 135 providing a greetingand receiving replies from the user device 105 for responses todetermine a category for which the request relates. Thus, in step 415,the automated system 135 may process the session. It should be notedthat while the session is being processed by the automated system 135,the monitoring application 320 of the transferring device 140 maymonitor this processing.

In step 420, the transfer application 330 determines whether an agent isrequired for the session. As discussed above, the monitoring application320 may receive information from the automated system 135 and/or monitorthe progress of the session to determine whether the responses beingused satisfy selected criteria such as being above a predeterminedconfidence threshold. If the responses satisfy these criteria, thesession may continue to be processed by the automated system 135.However, if the responses no longer satisfy the criteria, the transferapplication 330 continues the method 400 to step 425 where the sessionis forwarded from the automated system 135 to the agent device 120.Specifically, the transfer application 330 may operate in conjunctionwith the takeover application 240 for the transfer to be performed. Itshould again be noted that the transfer to the agent device 120 mayinclude providing a transcript or other information from the monitoringapplication 320 of the transferring device 140 and/or the automatedsystem 135 to the ticket application 235 of the agent device 120.Therefore, the agent may be aware of the parameters of the session and acurrent point where the automated system 135 was stopped being used.

In step 430, the agent using the agent device 120 may continue toprocess the session. As discussed above, the ticket application 235 mayenable the agent to perform the session with the user of the user device105. For example, searches may be performed or other information may beretrieved in order to form responses for the replies of the user device105. In another example, the ticket application 235 may receivesuggested responses from the automated system 135. Because the automatedsystem 135 may also continue to monitor the progress of the session,such a functionality may be available.

In step 435, the monitoring application 320 and the transfer application330 of the transferring device 140 may determine response parameters.Specifically, the response parameters may relate to the above describedcriteria used to determine whether the session is to be transferred backfrom the agent device 120 to the automated system 135. Therefore, thetransfer application 330 may consider response parameters such as aconfidence level of responses, a response time, an analysis ofresponses, etc. The transfer application 330 may also consider otherfactors including those described above such as workload of the contactcenter and the load factor of the agent using the agent device 120.

In step 440, the transfer application 330 determines whether the sessionis to be transferred back to the automated system 135. If the session isdetermined to remain with the agent device 120, the transfer application330 returns the method 400 to step 430. For example, the contact centerand the agent may be under capacity. Therefore, the session may remainwithout adversely affecting any other operation. In another example, theagent may be uniquely qualified in handling the session such as havingthe capability when the purview of the automated system 135 is passed.However, if the session is determined to be transferred back to theautomated system 135, the transfer application 330 continues the method400 to step 445 where the session is forwarded. For example, thetransfer application 330 may generate a signal to be transmitted to thetakeover application 240. The takeover application 240 may override anyoperation relating to the session and transfer the session to theautomated system 135.

It should be noted that the above described mechanism of using a signalgenerated by the transfer application 330 and transmitted to thetakeover application 240 for the automatic transfer of the session isonly exemplary. Those skilled in the art will understand that theexemplary embodiments may utilize other pathways for the automatictransfer of the session to be performed. For example, the transferapplication 330 may determine that the transfer is to be performed. Theautomated system 135 may perform a set of operations such that whenindicated, receives the session from the agent device 120. In anotherexample, the contact center network 115 may include an administrativecomponent that receives the indication from the transfer application 330to perform a set of operations for the transfer of the session to occur.

The exemplary embodiments provide a system and method of optimizing anagent time as a resource to handle sessions with users by furtheroptimizing a use of an automated system that is also configured tohandle sessions. The use of the automated system may be optimized byutilizing the automated system whenever possible such that the agent mayhandle sessions that the automated system may not be configured toaddress. Specifically, the agent may have a session automaticallytransferred to the automated system when a determination is made thatthe automated system may properly continue the session and provide highconfidence responses to replies from the user.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-describedexemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software orhardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardwareplatform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, forexample, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, aMac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system suchas iOS, Android, etc. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments ofthe above described method may be embodied as a program containing linesof code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumthat, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made in the present invention, without departingfrom the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended thatthe present invention cover modifications and variations of thisinvention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims andtheir equivalent.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: monitoring, by atransferring device of a contact center, a communication session betweenan agent device used by an agent of the contact center and a user deviceused by a user, the communication session including first communicationsgenerated by the agent and second communications generated by the user;determining, by the transferring device, when the communication sessionis to be transferred from the agent device to an automated system of thecontact center, the automated system configured to perform thecommunication session by generating third communications for the secondcommunications; and upon determining the communication session is to betransferred, generating, by the transferring device, a control signalconfigured to automatically transfer the communications session from theagent device to the automated system.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe communication session is determined to be transferred based upon aworkload of the contact center and wherein the automatic transfer isperformed when the workload is determined to be above a predeterminedworkload threshold.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicationsession is determined to be transferred based upon a load factor of theagent and wherein the automatic transfer is performed when the loadfactor of the first agent is above a predetermined load factorthreshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication sessionis determined to be transferred based upon a response time of providingthe first communications by the agent and wherein the automatic transferis performed when the response time is above a predetermined timethreshold.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the automated system isconfigured to generate suggested communications and provide thesuggested communications to the agent device.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the communication session is determined to be transferred basedupon a confidence value associated with the suggested communications andwherein the automatic transfer is performed when the suggestedcommunications are determined to have a corresponding confidence valueabove a predetermined confidence threshold.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the communication session is determined to be transferred basedupon an analysis of the first communications and wherein the automatictransfer is performed when the analysis is indicative of the suggestedcommunications substantially corresponding to the first communications.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session is initiatedby the automated system and the method further comprises: determining,by the transferring device, that the communication session is to betransferred from the automated system to the agent device when at leastone criteria is satisfied.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the atleast one criteria includes the third communications having acorresponding confidence value that drops below a predeterminedconfidence threshold, a response time to provide the thirdcommunications falls above a predetermined time threshold, and acommunication session has a complexity outside a capability of theautomated system.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signalis transmitted from the transferring device to the agent device.
 11. Atransferring device, comprising: a transceiver configured to establish aconnection to a contact center network of a contact center, the contactcenter network establishing a further connection for a user device usedby a user and an agent device used by an agent of the contact center;and a processor configured to monitor a communication session betweenthe agent device and the user device, the communication sessionincluding first communications generated by the agent and secondcommunications generated by the user, the processor configured todetermine when the communication session is to be transferred from theagent device to an automated system of the contact center, the automatedsystem configured to perform the communication session by generatingthird communications for the second communications, the processorconfigured to generate a control signal configured to automaticallytransfer the session from the agent device to the automated system. 12.The transferring device of claim 11, wherein the processor determinesthe communication session is to be transferred based upon a workload ofthe contact center and wherein the automatic transfer is performed whenthe workload is determined to be above a predetermined workloadthreshold.
 13. The transferring device of claim 11, wherein theprocessor determines the communication session is to be transferredbased upon a load factor of the agent and wherein the automatic transferis performed when the load factor of the first agent is above apredetermined load factor threshold.
 14. The transferring device ofclaim 11, wherein the processor determines the communication session isto be transferred based upon a response time of providing the firstresponses by the agent and wherein the automatic transfer is performedwhen the response time is above a predetermined time threshold.
 15. Thetransferring device of claim 11, wherein the automated system isconfigured to generate suggested communications and provide thesuggested communications to the agent device.
 16. The transferringdevice of claim 15, wherein the processor determines the communicationsession is to be transferred based upon a confidence value associatedwith the suggested communications and wherein the automatic transfer isperformed when the suggested communications are determined to have acorresponding confidence value above a predetermined confidencethreshold.
 17. The transferring device of claim 15, wherein theprocessor determines the communication session is to be transferredbased upon an analysis of the first communications and wherein theautomatic transfer is performed when the analysis is indicative of thesuggested communications substantially corresponding to the firstcommunications.
 18. The transferring device of claim 11, wherein thecommunication session is initiated by the automated system and theprocessor is further configured to determine that the communicationsession is to be transferred from the automated system to the agentdevice when at least one criteria is satisfied.
 19. The transferringdevice of claim 18, wherein the at least one criteria includes the thirdcommunications having a corresponding confidence value that drops belowa predetermined confidence threshold, a response time to provide thethird communications falls above a predetermined time threshold, and acommunication session has a complexity outside a capability of theautomated system.
 20. A system, comprising: a user device used by auser; an agent device used by an agent of a contact center; atransferring device of the contact center, the transferring deviceconfigured to determine when a communication session between the userdevice and the agent device is to be transferred to an automated systemof the contact center, the communication session including firstcommunications generated by the agent and second communicationsgenerated by the user, the automated system configured to perform thesession by generating third communications for the secondcommunications, the transferring device configured to generate a controlsignal configured to automatically transfer the communication sessionfrom the agent device to the automated system.